The Mighty Edible Mushroom

September is the month to celebrate mushrooms. I'll admit, I used to dislike these things. But that was before I really gave them a try. They quickly became my favorite pizza topping (along with black olives and sausage) once I tried them out. And I love cooking with them now as well.

Ancient Romans considered mushrooms "food of the Gods", and reserved them as a treat for special occasions. The ancient Chinese would use edible mushrooms to treat various ailments. And today, we dedicate the entire month of September to celebrating these little edible fungi.

Q: Why did the mushroom get invited to all the cool parties?

A: Because he was a fungi!

The thing I like most about mushrooms is that they're very nutrient dense despite their size. They contain several B-vitamins, selenium, copper, potassium, phosphorous, zinc, manganese, and some vitamin D. Mushrooms are also rich in phytochemical and phenolic compounds. Scientists are studying how they can be used to help with cancer prevention. This sounds like a win to me, so do yourself a favor and eat some mushrooms.

I rounded up a few mushroom recipes from the interwebs for you to try out. Enjoy!